http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2010/02/22/study_health_rules_on_flying_with_tb_too_strict/
This article was written by Mike Stobbe an AP Medical Writer, and it was published on February 22, 2010 on boston.com. The article has to do with the dangers of flying on the same plane with someone that has TB. Though this article showed the side of the argument that people rarely agree with. This side that says it isn't that dangerous to fly on the same plane as someone infected with TB, and that it is unlikely it would even be spread to others on the flight. In this article Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar explains how he believes that restrictions on flying for people infected with TB are to harsh. He did alot of research and found that there were many instances when people with TB flew on planes and infected no one else on the flight. He believes that if a person has been on their drugs for over two weeks and isn't showing any contagious symptoms that they should be allowed to fly on a plane, because the risk to the other passengers is so minimal. The article references a popular case of a person with TB boarding a plane that got global attention. In the article it said that "Hundreds of passengers who traveled with him were tested, and none was found to have tuberculosis." Abubakar uses this along with many other tests of people that have traveled with TB infected people to prove his point that TB is very unlikely to be spread during a flight if it is well managed, and that people are making to big of a deal over it. Though the article was ended with the other side of the arguement with the quote by Dr. Thomas Frieden the CDC Director "It's always better to be safe than sorry,".
When I read this article title I thought I was going to completely disagree with the statement. After hearing about how deadly and contagious TB is in class I thought I would be afraid to be near anyone who had it. Though after reading the article I found myself oddly agreeing with Abubakar. I still believe that it is better to be safe than sorry. Though I also believe that if the proper steps are taking that people with well controlled TB should be allowed to fly. If someone has had the misfortune to be infected with TB and doesn't have enough money to hire their own private plane I don't think they should be forced not to fly. If it can be controlled and the threat can be minimized I believe TB infected people should be allowed to board flights.
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This definitely is not an esily debated subject. I don't think it's fair to prohibit a person to fly in a plane, yet at the same time I don't think it's fair for the other passengers on board if they are not informed and then have to have tests taken afterward. However, I agree with Megan and Abubakar that if the right safety precausions are taken, then TB probably wont spread to the other passengers. He said that the infected person must be free of symptoms. I think this rule makes perfect sense because we learned in class that TB is a highly contagious disease and can easily be transmitted through a cough or a sneeze. I don't think we can ever be too careful, especially since the morbidity rate of this disease is rising drastically, so steps should be taken to ensure the safetly of the others on board.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw what this article was about, I thought I was going to disagree with it right away; I thought it was a terrible idea to let people who are infected with TB fly in planes where they could possibly infect the other passengers. However, after reading the article, I think that this article has a valid point. If a person infected with TB has been on medications for two weeks and is not showing any signs of being contagious, it makes sense that they should be allowed to fly. I had never thought about people with TB but do not show symptoms. I always just thought it was contagious, especially on a plane no matter what. I think that if the right steps are taken to make sure that the person will not infect any other passenger and they have been cleared by a medical professional, they should be allowed to fly with no problem. While I understand that the flying rules revolving around TB right now seem strict, people only put these rules in place to be safe, rather than sorry, and I believe that is something people cannot get mad at if people are only doing it for the safety of others.
ReplyDeleteAs important it is to prevent the spead of an infectious disease as serious as TB, I do realize that the disease is not the choice of the infected, that the victim has no choice but to deal with TB. That being said, I agree that a person infected with TB should be allowed to board a plane just like anyone else as long as they are correctly taking their drugs and are not contagious at the point. As we learned in class, and as Megan and the author stated, TB is fatal and easily spread, so as long as the right precautions are taken, a person with TB should be able to fly just as swiftly as any other passeneger.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Molly said. If a person infected with TB has been on medications it is not likely that they will infect others. However, one must also think of the medical condistions of others on the plane. For example, people with a weakened immune system are more suseptible to becoming infected because of their condition. I believe that if a person takes the right precautions for flying while infected with TB then it should be allowed, but as Molly said I feel as though they should be checked by a medical professional. Also, I don't believe that people can get upset and mad that those infected with TB can't fly because it may not be in the best interest of the other passengers on the plane.
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